Link silently cursed as he stumbled, the Light Arrow careening off into the far wall. He strung his bow again in one fluid motion, but it was already too late. Ganondorf shook off the crackling magic that had incapacitated him and stood, flinging another ball of energy in Link's direction.
Link could feel his arm muscles flagging, trembling ever so slightly as he exchanged his bow for his sword and hit the sizzling ball back to its source. He did his best to set his mind on the threat in front of him and nothing else, willing his mind to wander to neither past nor future. It had worked in every battle in every Goddess-forsaken dungeon up to this point; he prayed that it would work in the final and most important fight.
The spell rang against his sword as he hit it back, his arm recoiling against the force and pain shooting from his wrist to his shoulder. Thrice more he swung his sword more like a club, forcing back the assault and feeling pins and needles traveling up his arm.
It connected! He leaped forward across the chasm, stumbling a little on the very edge. He raised his sword over his head and hammered like mad down on the man below him, feeling steel ring against armor as the stricken sorcerer raised his arms to protect his head. Link felt his blade connect only once, a bit of unprotected flesh near the elbow, and then the Evil King's fist flew upward into a glancing blow on the side of the jaw.
Link spun on his heel and leaped back, slipping and grabbing the edge of the crumbling tower just in time. Hearing mad laughter behind him, he heaved upward until his shoulders screamed in pain and missed being slammed by angry magic by milliseconds. He ripped the bow from his back and nocked an arrow, the bright flash of Light illuminating the insane grin of the man in front of him. He could feel the blood throbbing in his stricken jaw.
Out of potions of any kind, Link began a tug-of-war with his own mind and body, willing it to keep together until this last foe finally fell. And yet the unwanted thoughts kept teasing their way into his brain. What are you going to do when you're out of magic power for your arrows? What are you going to do if he hits you so hard you can't get back up again?
He fired his arrow, then cursed under his breath as the precious light magic shot past Ganondorf and into the wall just behind and to the right. He switched back to his sword, hoping to make do with whatever Ganondorf threw at him.
The dark sorcerer hadn't spoken since they began their battle in the giant organ room. He kept his gaze on Link, eyes focused and showing no sign of flagging. Link tried to avoid his eye as much as possible; the malice within was as strong as a fist to the face, and there was something else there, something that made Link's spirit quail every time their gaze locked.
Suddenly Link slipped, and fell hard on his sword arm. He could not conceal his grimace of pain, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Ganondorf's face light up in anticipation. Link jumped to his feet and raised his arm to hit back, but the ball of magic knocked the sword right out of his hand. The Master Sword skittered across the cracked tile, and as he chased it he could feel rather than see the expression of bloody triumph on his enemy's face.
Link grasped the sword, felt his fingers grip hard around the hilt. But it was too late. He had just enough time to straighten and turn toward his foe, when the ball of crackling energy hit him full in the chest.
His body seized up, sparks popping in his eyes. The smell of burning cloth and hair. He felt his back connect hard with the floor, and then his hand being jerked upward. His marked hand.
He felt as if his entire body was being ripped apart as the Goddess's blessing was torn from him, and then fell into darkness.
"Link…please wake up."
Link's eyes fluttered open, and he felt the unmistakable taste of blue potion on his tongue. The first thing he saw when his vision cleared was Zelda's troubled face. He smiled, then frowned when her expression didn't change to match his own.
"What happened?" He was alive, so they must have won. He couldn't imagine still being in one piece if Ganondorf had claimed victory.
She managed a half-smile. "The Triforce has returned to the Sacred Realm." But her face fell immediately afterward. "Unfortunately, it has left us with some loose ends to tie up."
Link heard a snort above and slightly behind her. He pulled himself into a sitting position, then flinched and instinctively reached for his sword when he saw the man standing there.
Ganondorf stood with arms folded, watching the both of them with a detached interest. Link noticed his sword at Zelda's side and his hand flew out to grab it, but she caught his wrist.
"He could not claim the full Triforce, even with both of us incapacitated. The Goddesses have deemed him unworthy of their blessing, save for Power, which he rejected in a fit of pique when denied."
Link looked up to catch Ganondorf's reaction to this pronouncement. The tall man merely turned his head away, leaving Zelda to the explanations.
"So…what happens now?" Link asked, unsure how to confront this problem. He never doubted that Zelda would have a solution.
"We have held counsel, Hylian Queen and Gerudo King," Zelda explained carefully. "With the madness of Power lifted, he has agreed to a truce. Hyrule cannot suffer continuous war, and he knows that…but there are conditions."
Link felt afraid to ask, but he did so anyway. "What are they?"
Here Ganondorf spoke up. "I can't allow a hostile force such as yourself to stay within the hands of my enemy. You will leave the Master Sword in the Temple of Light, and you will switch your alliance to me."
Link's fists clenched. "I won't raise my blade against Zelda!"
"You won't have to," Ganondorf said dryly. "There will be plenty of work for your blade in the Gerudo Desert." His eyes had a strange glint that Link couldn't place. "We can always use another swordsman."
Link turned to Zelda. "I don't understand."
She put her hand on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture, but an untranslatable urgency stirred behind her eyes. "The Light within you cannot be corrupted. I am asking you to go with him, to satisfy the terms of the treaty that will keep Hyrule safe."
"I won't ask you to raise your blade against any Hylian, Gerudo, Goron, Zora, or Kokiri," Ganondorf explained. "You will serve me, but it will be to the mutual benefit of both kingdoms."
"Do you agree to the terms?" Zelda asked, her expression pleading, and yet something about her screamed that she was trying to convey something important, something that was going over his head.
Panicked, Link demanded, "What happens if I don't?"
Ganondorf answered for her. "Then I will continue my campaign to keep all of Hyrule under my rule. Needless to say, the heir to the Hyrulean throne has no place in my plans."
Link turned back to Zelda's beseeching expression. Was this the source of her fear? No, she seemed almost…afraid for him, not her. Yet Ganondorf seemed to be bending over backward to assure the both of them that this request, strange as it was, would free them of his threat. He could be lying, of course. He'd done it before, with the previous king…
But what choice did they have? Link had already promised Zelda his life in return for Hyrule's safety, just by taking on this quest. If his life had been the terms requested, he would have given it up gladly, but Ganondorf wasn't asking for it. Of course, there would be little Zelda could do if Ganondorf simply throttled him and led another attack.
Link turned his cold blue gaze to Ganondorf. "If you're thinking of striking again after disposing of me, you can think again. It won't happen."
Ganondorf raised his head and stared down his long nose at him. "If I really wanted to dispose of you, I wouldn't have allowed Zelda to revive you."
Floored, Link turned to Zelda, who nodded. What on earth was the Gerudo King playing at?
Ganondorf harrumphed in impatience. "I'd rather have Hyrule's greatest warrior…on my side instead of hers. Is that really so hard to take?" His eyes gleamed strangely in his pause, but whatever message it contained was lost on Link.
"Do you agree to the terms?" Zelda asked again, more urgently now. Her expression hadn't changed, suggesting that they both knew something he didn't. What else had they discussed while he was out cold on the floor?
Regardless, there was really nothing he could do except trust in Zelda, as he had all this time. She had led him as well as she could to his goal. What did it matter if her path took another direction?
Link nodded. "I do."